The Black Keys Refuse To Stream El Camino

Several days ago, The Black Keys released their seventh full-length album El Camino, to the delight of their fans. However, don’t expect to find this rocking new album available for full streaming anywhere on the Internet. The Black Keys are refusing to allow free streaming of the album on popular digital music services such as Spotify and Rhapsody, claiming loss of potential album sales. Other artists holding similar views include Coldplay, Mac Miller, and handfuls of small indie bands.

Media streaming services, Spotify in particular, have argued counterclaims, including a popular industry tidbit that asserts a song must be played 100-150 times before the artist receives revenue equivalent of a single digital download. Since Spotify first launched in the U.S. earlier this summer, they have acquired millions of loyal users who access free streaming music content, which has sparked controversy from certain audiences such as this.